X-Mouse Button Control

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Editors' Review

Your mouse probably has several buttons and maybe a scroll wheel or two, but are you using the default settings or can you open and close Web pages, turn the volume up and down when you play music, or simulate any keystroke? You can, with X-Mouse Button Control. This free utility lets you set customized profiles, called Layers, with individually customized mouse controls in each, and rapidly switch between them. You can create separate mouse control profiles for individual applications, such as games that don't support extended mouse buttons. Or, you can have the scroll wheel change to a volume control when you hover your cursor over the system tray.

X-Mouse Button Control's main interface shows your profiles in the main window and configures them via a series of tabs labeled Layer 1 through 5, with another tab for Scrolling & Navigation. Each Layer has a name entry field and up to 8 mouse controls, including left, right, and middle buttons; wheel up and down; and tilt right and left. Drop-down lists let us choose from a huge range of commands or No Change (Don't Intercept), which leaves the default command intact. We started by naming our first Layer and selecting our control options. In the Application/Windows Profile pane, we browsed to several applications to create custom mouse commands, such as opening Outlook's inbox. The Settings button offered three tabs of options to configure: General, Global Hotkeys, and Modifier Keys. When we'd made all our selections, we clicked Apply. X-Mouse seamlessly applied our settings, with no discernible difference in performance or feel. We tried the program with several different mice, including a wireless laser laptop mouse and a wired laser gaming mouse that actually had too many controls for X-Mouse, including a thumbwheel. However, X-Mouse let us map any control we chose. We could right-click the program's system tray icon and choose any Layer, enter Setup, disable X-Mouse's controls, and other choices.

X-Mouse is a great way to get more out of your mouse. With a little effort, you can set up individualized control profiles that let you do things with your mouse that you'd need a series of clicks and keystrokes to do the usual way.

Easy to set up, works great with every mouse I've used with it so far. Includes tons of premade options but also allows you to create your own action for each button if what you want isn't in their list. I use it to change my "back" and "forward" buttons on my mice to be "delete" and "escape" since I work with autocad a lot and it's allowed my cheaper mice to be programmed like a gaming mouse if I wanted. I've have zero issues with the program throughout the year I've had it and the 6 or so mice I've used with it.

A regular old wireless laser notebook mouse turns into a gaming mouse (I get 35 commands out of 7 buttons using hotkeys, or 45 if I include scroll up and down). I also use it a lot for Acrobat Pro to map highlighting and editing tools for reviewing academic articles.

Cons

Bug with MS Word where it first causes pc to type whatever button is being pressed repeatedly, and then crashes. I don't even have an X-Mouse profile for Word, really not sure why this happens. Sticky hotkeys sometimes get activated for no reason. Mapping doesn't work for some games with launchers (the buttons get mapped to the launcher not the game).

Summary

Version 2.6 has been out for a while now on the publisher's website. Definitely knocks the socks off most native software. Really makes your mouse much more versatile, but it's still buggy and I'm looking for an alternative. BTW, for those complaining of bloatware, check again it may well be C|NET's not X-Mouse.

I hope it's worth the time it took to uninstall all the adware and hijacks.

Cons

I tried to be careful to NOT click the "OK to install software buttons," but even so it installed something called We care, Sweet packs, and Top arcade hits, as well as changing my browser search default and home page. Be warned that you will have to uninstall all of these, which took me 15-20 minutes because it kept being difficult. I hoped using CNet would make this less of a problem, but apparently they like to mess with your computer, too.

-Easy interface-Works GREAT-VERY versatile once you understand it-Specific apps are almost endless-Program to turn on n off, then program a control key for a specific function-I had a fear of possible contamination, but if its on c|net its safe...

Cons

-I had to find the programming code for my specific app online and it wasn't easy to find...

Summary

I am a part-time gamer who was tired of having to tap my arrow key/mouse key during heavy action sessions, this has literally saved my index finger...Its starting to grow back LOL...

All I really needed was my center button to work as a back button since my Logitech software crapped out and won't reinstall properly. I just don't have time to figure out why it is not working, but now I don't need to because X-Mouse does the job.

I downloaded this program because I had to upgrade to System 7 when I got a new computer. My older wireless keyboard and mouse from Microsoft worked but the Intellimpouse program didn't. X-mouse fills the gap and more

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